Chapter 11

Chapter 11 "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU COULDN'T FIND THAT UNICORN?" King Harvey's squeaky voice hurt Princess Pulverizer's ears as she stood near the castle gates, hidden behind a group of hungry people who had gathered to cheer the knights' return. The king, too, had been waiting at the gate, eager to greet his knights when they returned with a unicorn horn. But they'd returned empty-handed. "I'm sorry, sir," Humphrey apologized. "We tried, but the unicorns have disappeared." "I want a unicorn horn!" King Harvey began jumping up and down like a toddler having a tantrum. "I want one! I want one!"

Princess Pulverizer laughed so hard she snorted. Loudly. The people around her moved away quickly. No one wanted to be near anyone who laughed at King Harvey. "I know you!" King Harvey shouted as he spotted the princess. "You're that know-it-all. And... YIKES! Is that a dragon?" "Yes," Princess Pulverizer answered. "But you don't have to worry about Dribble. He's..." "You're a spy!" King Harvey declared. "Not only have you returned accompanied by a knight ready for battle, you've brought a dragon to burn down my castle." "I'm only a knight-in-training," Lucas said. "Or I used to be, before some mean kids laughed me out of Knight School." "And I don't burn down castles," Dribble insisted. "I make grilled cheese." "Bring the enemies to my quarters!" the king ordered. "I'll question them myself."

"When we met, you seemed to know a lot about unicorns," King Harvey reminded Princess Pulverizer a few minutes later. "You must know where they are hiding." "I have no idea," Princess Pulverizer replied. The sword of truth lay still by the princess's side. She really didn't know where Fortune and his blessing had gone. "Tell me," King Harvey insisted, "or you will all spend the rest of your days in my dungeon." "Oh dear." Lucas looked as though he might cry. Princess Pulverizer didn't blame him. That sounded pretty dismal. She struggled to think of some way to make the king happy. But before she could come up with anything, there was a knock at the door. "Who goes there?" a guard demanded.

"Professor Coggin-Noggin of the Royal University. I must speak to the king about unicorns." Princess Pulverizer and her friends exchanged nervous glances. "Enter!" King Harvey squealed excitedly. "Your majesty, you can end your search for the unicorns," Professor Coggin-Noggin declared as he hurried into the room. "Why would I do that?" King Harvey demanded. "Because unicorns do not exist," Professor Coggin-Noggin replied. "They're only found in fairy tales. I've done my research. And I am the smartest person in Leononia." "I beg your pardon?" King Harvey squeaked angrily. "Other than you, of course," Professor Coggin-Noggin corrected himself. Princess Pulverizer rolled her eyes. If Professor Coggin-Noggin was the smartest

man in Leononia, this place was in trouble. Because unicorns did exist. But she didn't say that. She'd learned her lesson. The unicorns were safer if folks thought they were make-believe. "Now that the unicorn question has been settled, we'll be on our way," she said instead. "You aren't going anywhere!" King Harvey told her. "You're still in trouble. You came to my banquet under false pretenses. You're no princess." "She is," Lucas insisted. "She's just a different kind of princess. She's more like a

knight." "She's more like an enemy," King Harvey corrected him. "I don't trust any of you. So I'm going to keep you where you can't hurt me—in the dungeon!" A bead of nervous perspiration dripped from the princess's upper lip. Oh no! She'd broken one of her father's knights' most important rules: Never let your enemies see you sweat. The princess started to wipe her face with her hand, but Dribble kindly handed her his handkerchief. The princess used the cloth to wipe away the beads of sweat that had formed just below her nose. Suddenly she smelled flowers—Queen Anne's lace, lavender, yarrow, and foxglove. How strange. There wasn't a single blossom in the room. But there were flowers outside the castle walls. By holding Dribble's magic handkerchief near her nose, Princess